


Spun Glass

by Marmidotte



Series: Princes Everywhere [8]
Category: Grimm (TV), Lewis (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-04 21:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11563482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marmidotte/pseuds/Marmidotte
Summary: Their relationship is strong but not without hitches.





	Spun Glass

**Author's Note:**

> A quick vignette about what happens after Undercover Lady.

James was breathing. Hard. Sadly not from anything sexually related. After the undercover case closed, and a few more days were he and Robbie finally separated and stopped saying the same thing at the same time, he had hoped things would go back to normal, with them both going back as DIs, and Laura as pathologist. Except it had not. Oh, Laura had settled back easily in her job, with a renewed energy, seeing the result of their work as a victory and a vengeance. She also had a new reputation as a badass you did not want to mess with, and several DIs who were causing problems before were suddenly polite and deferential.

But the situation between James and Robbie was not all right. They had yet to move together, the three of them, and had been sleeping each in their old apartment for a few days already, and would use the training room at the station to hash out their problems. Which was exactly what they were doing at the moment. Robbie always accepted the invitations to spar with James, but kept treating him like spun glass, like he was going to break at any instant. As he was doing in any situation of their lives, and he was even beginning to be condescending. And James was at the end of his tether. So this sparring session that had begun totally normally was rapidly descending into something akin to war.

James left arm had been broken by a sharp retaliation of Robbie around ten minutes ago. Ulna, probably Radius too. He catalogued the pain, then let it go at the back of his brain, wary of Robbie's attacks, on the alert for any movement or indication. Clenching his jaw, he made an aborted movement to the left of Robbie, veering to the other side as he noticed his feint had worked. He slid to the floor, palm splayed, leaning on his right arm, his legs hitting Robbie's shins hard. Judging by the very short grimace and the sound, one of Robbie's shin was now broken too.

Robbie did not wait to retaliate, catching James' leg before he could retreat, and sending him flying above his shoulders. Had the situation been different, James would have approved of the smooth movements and the precise twist and hold. As is, he was far beyond furious, and was interested only in one thing: winning. He did not oppose the movement, landing in a short roll and standing up in one move. Laura's Aikido training had given him almost perfect control on his tumbles downwards, and he did not break his movement, merely changed the direction and his fist was flying towards Robbie's midriff, too fast for the other man to stop or parry. Robbie groaned as James' punch hit him, allowing the pain to show on his face but only for a few seconds, already trying to get James in an armlock. The move would have succeeded, if not for the door suddenly opening despite being closed with a bar and locked, and them instantly freezing.

Laura strode into the room, face blank but shoulders tight. She closed the door, replaced the bar more or less in place within the half-broken hooks, and slowly stepped closer to the two men. She gazed at them, cataloguing the injuries and gauging the state of both, expecting them to be hiding part of it. While she was doing that, James finally looked at Robbie, not assessing his opponent anymore, but trying to see how is bonded was. Robbie did the same, and they both did a double take followed by notably turning white as they realised what they had done. "Oh, God." - "Christ."

"Are you mad? Have you totally taken leave of your senses? You could have killed each other! You already did enough damage to warrant a trip to A&E!" Laura was shouting, and it was never a good thing when Laura was shouting. It usually promised punishments – not of the fun kind – and being forbidden from going to her place, in the best case scenario. What it would get them this time, neither of them wanted to think of it.

"I" - "It" - "We..." Robbie shrugged, eyes downcast, tears on his face and skin still ashen. "Me fault, love. I ... I didn't treat James very well and his patience ran out an' you know how I am at this 'talking' lark..."

James shook his head. "I was not any better. Instead of talking, I let anger get the best of me, and only thought of punishing Robbie for hurting me." James voice was barely audible, but Laura has had practice at listening to him.

Her face was sad, and a frown marred her forehead. "Oh, love. You two... come here." She reached and hugged them both, feeling part of the tension going out of them. "I should have known that you would not get at it the right way. I just thought… well, too late now. But we still need to get you checked."

James lifted his head and concentrated to explain. "Ah, well, no, not necessarily."

Laura looked at him with a puzzled expression. "No? You both have broken bones, I cannot set things here, nor do I have the correct x-ray equipment."

James was trying to find words to be clear. "I... it's a subset of my power. I can... kind of turn very positive feelings, like real love, into healing. I do not know how it really works, to be honest, but... give me a few minutes, and hold me?"

Sitting on his heels, putting his arm in his lap, but still held by Laura and comforted by Robbie's hands on his knees, he concentrated on the bones he knew were broken. It was weird, because to Laura's and Robbie's sight, his arm was like blurred, fuzzy, edges undefined, but for him, nothing looked different. The light scrunching sound had them all wincing, though, but a few minutes later, he lifted his arm from his lap, and held it out to Laura, awaiting her judgement.

"It's..." Laura's eyes were wide with disbelief "it's healed! How on earth? That's impossible."

Robbie snorted. "Impossible, thy name is Hathaway..." earning himself a "oh, you!" from Laura and a light rap on the shoulder from James.

"I can... if you want... if you do not mind... I mean I..." James could not even express himself when Robbie was concerned.

"Wha? Me, you can do the same with me leg?" Robbie was far from convinced – not by James' abilities, by his willingness. "After everything I did to you, you want to help me?"

It was Laura who spoke next. Her voice is soft, full of sadness and love. "Oh, Robbie. Sometimes I forget that you are as uncertain as us poor mortals" - "Oi!" - "and need reassuring." She caught Robbie's jaw with one hand, and lifted his head with gentleness until she could properly look into his eyes. "We. Love. You."

"I… No, Laura, lass, I don't…" Robbie was shushed by a finger on his lips.

"You do not get to decide what we feel or what we want, love. We love you, and it's not a bit of a spat, not matter how serious the resulting injuries are, that will change that."

Robbie tried to move, to argue his case, but while he was distracted and maudlin, James had moved enough to hold him in his arms, and to kiss him, leaving no doubt at all about what he felt.


End file.
